Beautiful
by marina eys
Summary: Ginny and Draco hate each other. Then somebody makes a bet with Draco that he can transform any girl so that she is suitable to attend the wizarding world's most prestigious event, the Royal Wizards' Ball...
1. Don't look at me

**-Beautiful-**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Is my writing anything like J.K Rowling's? I don't think so. Most characters and ideas in this story are hers. Anything you do not recognize is most probably mine (unless stated otherwise).

**Plot: **It starts off with the usual scenario: Ginny and Draco hate each other.

Then somebody makes a bet with Draco that he can transform any girl so that she will be suitable to attend the wizarding world's most prestigious event, the Royal Wizards' Ball…

This story will probably contain some fluff for you all (that is, if anybody likes it enough to want me to continue). There will be nothing too sappy though.

**Pairings: **

Ginny/Draco

Maybe a bit of Ron/Hermione/Harry

**Setting: **This story takes place at Hogwarts. Ginny is in her sixth year. Draco is in his seventh year.

**Author's Note:** I was inspired to write this fic for a number of reasons. Firstly, I just love the amount of clichés in love stories. You know, the typical "boy meet girl" scenario. I also love the movie _She's All That,_ which is where I borrowed the main idea for my story from though I have modified it a bit. My story is going to be different from the movie but there may be some parallels. Also, I really love the song by Christina Aguilera, _Beautiful_. (I have included the words at the beginning of this fic).

I have taken some liberties – for example, in the book and movie, Ginny does not wear glasses and she does not try to make herself look ugly. There may be some other stuff that is different but hey, its fanfiction.

Please everybody let me know if I should continue this. I have never written a Ginny/ Draco fic before and so I would absolutely love any advice!

* * *

(Beautiful – Christina Aguilera) 

_Don't look at me_

_Every day, is so wonderful_

_Then suddenly, it's hard to breathe_

_Now and then I get insecure_

_From all the pain, I'm so ashamed_

_But I am beautiful no matter what they say_

_Words won't bring me down_

_I am beautiful in every single way_

_Words won't bring me down._

_So don't you bring me down today._

_To all your friends you're delirious_

_So consumed, in all your doom_

_Trying hard, to fill the emptiness_

_The piece is gone, left the puzzle undone._

_Ain't that the way it is?_

'_Cause you are beautiful no matter what they say_

_Words won't bring you down_

_You are beautiful in every single way_

_Words won't bring you down._

_So don't you bring me down today._

_No matter what we do_

_No matter what we say_

_We're the song inside the tune_

_Full of beautiful mistakes_

_And everywhere we go_

_The sun will let it shine_

_The sun will always, always, always let it shine_

'_Cause we are beautiful, no matter what they say_

_Words can't bring us down_

_Oh no_

_We are beautiful in every single way_

_Words can't bring us down_

_Oh no_

_So don't you bring me down today._

_So don't you bring me down, today.

* * *

_

**Chapter 1: **

_Don't Look At Me_

It was the first day of school and Ginny scrambled out of bed, tripping over her sheets and ending up falling in a lump onto the floor.

"Shit." she swore and this caused her older brother, Percy, who was walking past her bedroom door, to reprimand her.

Ginny ignored him and continued to search for her glasses.

"Damn it. I know I put them somewhere."

After searching for a few minutes she found them on her bedside table.

Ginny did not actually need to wear glasses. She had perfect vision without them on. The reason she wore glasses was so that she could hide her gorgeous brown eyes. In some lights the colour changed so that they almost seemed yellow, but nobody at Hogwarts knew that. Not even her brother, Ron. She would always hide behind her glasses, which mutilated her brilliant eyes.

She combed her hair back in a low ponytail and let her fringe fall over her face so that most of the time, you could only see her nose, mouth and chin. And though there were many spells to straighten crooked teeth, she insisted on wearing braces so that sometimes, especially when she was anxious, she would lisp.

She put on a black jumper that seemed to envelope her small yet curvy figure so her body looked like one huge blob. She put on some baggy khaki pants which, as Pansy Parkinson loved to constantly remind her, were _so_ five minutes ago. She also wore ugg boots. True, they had got their name for a reason – they were ugly, but at least they were comfortable.

Nobody knew that Ginny was actually extremely beautiful. She never let anybody know the real reason why she hid her looks and made herself look as ugly as she possibly could. Needless to say, Ginny was somewhat of a recluse at Hogwarts, her only friends being Colin Creevy and Lydia Laney. (She did have Ron, Hermione and Harry but they were in the year above and saw her as Ron's little sister, not as an actual person.) This probably attributed to some of her surprise when she found out that she was a prefect this year. "I wonder who the others are?" she had speculated but had not dwelled on the question too deeply. She knew that Hermione was, of course, Head Girl.

Ginny Weasley looked at herself critically in the mirror and thought, "I am a living disaster."

Her face broke into a smile.

"Brilliant."

* * *

Draco admired his reflection in the mirror. First day of school and he was going to go back looking good. He had acquired a tan over the holidays and his previously thin and bony body had transformed so that his shirt emphasized his muscles. His blond hair had been cut short and was spiked. 

He was not smirking for once but was actually smiling (he hardly ever let anybody at Hogwarts see him smile). A letter that he had received a week ago was the reason for it.

It had read,

_Dear Mr. Draco Malfoy,_

_It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been selected to be Head Boy at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are to share a common room and dormitory with the other prefects. You will be informed more about this later._

_Regards,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Headmaster_

Yes, Draco had been thrilled when he had received this. For once he had beaten that "Bloody Harry Potter". In all his years at Hogwarts he always had to settle for second best to either Potter (in quidditch) or mudblood Granger (in the academic side of school). Now it was his turn, and he could not wait till he got back to Hogwarts.

"Just you wait, Potter. I will take off more points from Gryffindor than you have ever received faster than you can say Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans."

Draco's father, Lucius, had also been pleased at the news. Though he did not show much emotion, Draco could tell. Any feelings of love were never displayed in the males in the Malfoy family. Narcissa, his mother, was the only one who showed any feelings of affection. Nonetheless, Draco was not really bothered by it.

After all, it was the Malfoy way.

* * *

Ginny ran along Central Station with Ron not much far behind her. 

"Come on, Ron! We are going to be late."

"No we are not. We have plenty of time. Anyway, I'm trying to run but it is hard to not only have to push my suitcases but yours as well." Ron retorted.

"Well, you should not have offered to carry my bags for me."

They went passed the barrier and onto Platform 9 ¾. Ginny could see Harry and Hermione waiting for them alongside Colin and Lydia.

"Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late." Ginny puffed.

"I'm glad you two finally decided to arrive." Lydia smiled.

Ginny was just about to ask her how her holidays had been but was interrupted when somebody approached the group and drawled, "Well if it isn't Potter, Weasel, Mudblood and co."

_Oh no, not Malfoy. _Ginny groaned. He had made her life miserable at Hogwarts. Every since her first year with the Chamber of Secrets he could not stop tormenting her about it.

Ginny examined Draco. He certainly had changed since last year. He had always been the resident Hogwarts Heartthrob but now he looked even better. He had grown a lot so that Ginny just came up to his shoulder.

"Enjoying the view, Weasel?" Draco cocked one eyebrow causing Ginny blushed furiously.

"Get lost."

"I have heard you have been selected as a prefect. Isn't life full of surprises? I could never imagine a Weasley ever amounting to anything."

This last snide comment caused Ron to leap forward and attack Malfoy. He would have succeeded in doing so, had not Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Colin and Lydia tried to stop him.

"Don't be stupid, Ron." Hermione hissed. "He could make life hell for you. Haven't you heard? He is Head Boy."

Ginny blinked. Malfoy? Head Boy? But that would mean they would have to share the Prefects dormitory together. She mustn't have heard correctly.

"Sorry, I just hallucinated. What did you say again?"

"You heard correctly, Weasel. I got chosen to be Head Boy. I guess you did not see that one coming." Draco smirked. "Its just my luck to have to share a dormitory with both a mudblood _and_ a Weasley."

Everybody was trying to restrain himself or herself from beating Malfoy to a pulp.

"Malfoy, you are not wanted here." Harry said. Then he turned away from Malfoy and said to the rest of the group, "C'mon. Lets go."

They all boarded the Hogwarts Express. Ginny had a premonition that this year was going to be different…

They had managed to find an empty compartment and they all filed in as the train started to move.

"I can't believe that prat. Who does he think he is?" Colin shook his head in disgust.

"Just ignore him. He has always been a moron." Lydia said.

Ginny grinned at her friend. They had met in their first year and had been inseparable ever since. Lydia was loud and brazen whereas Ginny was much more quiet and shy. People would refer to them as, "Lydia and that girl. You know, the youngest Weasley. What's-her-name?"

"Something should be done about him. He's a danger to our health – he's a friggin' disease." Ron complained.

Ginny excused herself and decided to go look for the toilets. Though she did not want to admit it, Malfoy did get on her nerves. He had a way of insulting her so that she felt she was the most inferior person on earth. He knew where to aim his words so that it hurt.

She knew that she was boring, made herself up so that she looked ugly, was poor and above all, a _Weasley_. It still gave him no right to treat her like that. To treat her like she was a slug stuck under his shoe.

Ginny sniffed and walked blindly down the corridor. "Oh no. I'm starting to cry." she muttered helplessly.

And she was. She could not control herself. People walking down the corridor were starting to stare at her.

She turned around a corner into what she thought were the Girls Toilets and promptly banged into somebody.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She apologized profusely. "I am such an idiot." Ginny mumbled to herself.

"Wow, Weasley. You finally managed to say something intelligent. Congratulations. I never knew that you were a male – but I guess that explains a lot, doesn't it?"

Ginny heard the voice that she had dreaded hearing. Of all the people she had to crash into, why him?

"Malthoy?" Great, she was starting to lisp now of all times! Ginny wished that the floor would swallow her up.

"The one and only."

Ginny looked up and saw Draco with his trademark smirk plastered on his face. She looked at the room that she was going to walk into and it was indeed, the Boys Toilets.

Ginny started to stutter. "I-I-I w-w-a-" Why do I have to be so nervous? I wasn't like this before when Malfoy came up to me and I was with my friends.

"I know I am good-looking, but I never knew you were this much in love with me."

Ginny glared at Draco. He always made her so nervous. She could never think of anything smart to say to his rude remarks. That is, until 3 o'clock the next morning.

"Just get out of my way." Ginny made to move past him with her head bent over so that he could not see her tears but Draco was not fooled.

"Aww, poor baby. Did something I say upset you?" Draco said with mock sincerity.

"Look, I wouldn't expect you of all people to understand anything about other people's feelings. It's like you're not even human!" Ginny cursed. She watched Malfoy, waiting for him to explode. She had never said anything like that to him before and she was scared of his reaction.

Malfoy's eyes flashed with anger and he started to say something but thought better of it. He clenched his fist as if he was going to hit her and Ginny leaned back, waiting for his fist to connect with her flesh.

His hand never touched her face.

Ginny glanced at Malfoy and was surprised to see that he was in fact laughing.

"Oh, that was very good Weasley. I would never have thought that you had it in you. It looks like the mouse has developed some claws."

Ginny flushed.

"I'd be more careful if I were you. I don't hit girls but there is always a first time." Was all Draco said before he left and she did not miss the threat that was in his voice.

_Sexist pig. _YetGinny was thankful that Malfoy had controlled his temper. How would it look to Ron and the others if she went back to her compartment with a swollen eye?

This year was definitely not off to a good start.

Meanwhile, Draco was chuckling at the thought of his encounter with the youngest Weasley. There was something about her that was so irritating. It was amusing for him to annoy her and he thought that she looked hilarious when she blushed. She was quite a repulsive looking girl and rather clumsy. She wore the biggest glasses that he had personally ever seen, her hair looked like it had not been washed in a while and the clothes she wore were certainly _not _flattering.

"Laughing about something?" somebody asked from behind him.

Draco glanced over his shoulder and saw that it was Blaise Zabini. Though the two boys were both in Slytherin, they had a love-hate relationship. They were great friends but at the same time they could be each other's worst enemy. Blaise at the moment was leaning with his back against the wall. He had died his hair black which was slicked back with gel. Many girls thought that he was handsome and he knew it. Draco bet that he had at least five mirrors on him now in case one happened to break.

"Surprise, surprise. You managed to board the train on time for once. I was just laughing about that Weasley girl."

Blaise sneered. "Do not tell me that the poor girl has a crush on you. Haven't you broken enough hearts?"

"If I did not know any better, I would say that you that you had an interest in the girl yourself." Draco replied.

"Touché."

Both boys grinned.

"I couldn't blame the girl if she did have a crush on me." Draco said smugly.

"Draco, you think that every girl is in love with you. You think that you are irresistible. And where are your two cronies – Crabbe and Goyle?"

"No idea. Knowing them, they probably got lost on their way to the station. Anyway, I am irresistible. I only think that because it is true."

"I heard that a certain girl dumped you at the beginning of the holidays." Blaise raised his eyebrows. Draco knew that he was referring to his ex-girlfriend, Pansy Parkinson.

"I believe I dumped Pansy."

Blaise snorted. "Yeah, right. And she was supposed to be your date for the upcoming Royal Wizards Ball."

The Royal Wizards Ball was held annually and only the wizarding world's most prestigious people were deemed suitable to attend. It was going to be Draco's first year attending this ball but he needed a date to actually take with him. A date who would need to go through a number of inspections and tests that all people had to pass to be able to go to the ball. There was a whole selection process involved. Draco was certain that he had the skills, prestige and elegance to be able to go and so did Pansy. And now they had split and he had nobody to go with.

"I can still go to the ball." Draco stated.

"As if you would be able to. It is required for you to have a partner."

"I could ask any girl and they would be willing to go."

"Any girl? This girl needs to be able to pass the tests put forward by the Royal Wizards Committee. You think that any girl can do this?" Blaise questioned.

"Any girl. I could take any girl and transform her and teach her so that she would be ready for the ball."

"I'm starting to like this. Lets make a bet on it."

"A bet?" Draco frowned.

"Yeah, a bet. You have to make a girl of my choice ready for the ball. If you win you can ask me to do anything and I will have to do it. Vice versa if I win. Is that a deal?"

Draco tilted his head, thinking. Why not? It would not be so hard.

"Deal."

They shook hands on it.

Draco wondered just what exactly he had gotten himself into but he knew that he could never back down from a challenge because of his Malfoy pride – and Blaise knew that as well.

"Now lets go shopping." Blaise walked down the corridor, peering into different compartments and glancing at the girls in them.

"Ooh. Here is a lovely looking one." He said, pointing to a girl with buckteeth and bushy hair who was at that moment scratching her backside.

"Hermione Granger. Get real." Draco shook his head.

"You're right. That would be too easy."

Blaise suggested a few other girls, each one worse than the other, but he ended up deciding against them because they did not meet his approval. That is, until he saw a particular redhead who was walking towards them suddenly trip over a trolley filled with lollies and somersault onto the floor in front of them.

Blaise's smile was triumphant and Draco's face fell.

"Looks like we have a winner."

* * *

**A/N: **So what did you all think? Should I continue? Please, please, please let me know. Anyway, I hope you like it. 

I have chosen to name the chapters by each chapter having one line from the song _Beautiful_ (So this chapter was called _Don't Look At Me_).

Thanks go to PrettyGal1212 (you should look at her story) and Baby Blue Gal who helped edit my story and gave me some advice.


	2. Every day, is so wonderful

**Disclaimer: **Anything written by J.K Rowling is not mine (no duh)! She owns most of the characters and the other stuff that you recognize. I also do not own most of this plot. I have borrowed it from the movie _She's All That_, so some of the lines may be similar in certain places (though I have differed my story from the movie). I also do not own the song Beautiful; which is actually sung by Christina Aguilera.

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**Author's Note: **Thanks so much for all the reviews! I really loved them. I got so much more than I expected. I hope you all like the next chapter.

* * *

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**Chapter 2:**

**-**

_Every day is so wonderful_

-

Blaise's smile was triumphant and Draco's face fell.

"Looks like we have a winner." Blaise sniggered. "Looks like Ginny Weasley is our girl."

"You cannot be serious. Ginny Weasley? Are you insane? I'd rather have Granger. At least I would have something to work with. I have to think about my reputation." Malfoy felt like banging his head against the wall.

"Maybe, but if I were you, I would not be standing around doing nothing. I would be over there talking to Ginny and starting to get some work done because it is going to take a while before she is ready to be accepted for Royal Wizards Ball." And with that, Blaise could not control himself any longer and he bent over laughing.

"Sod off." Malfoy snapped. Blaise shrugged an staggered off, sniggering.

Malfoy raked his hand through his hair. This was going to take a lot of work. He would actually have to associate himself with a Weasley. He looked at Ginny in disgust.

She had recovered from her fall on the ground and was dusting her clothes. She was relieved to find that her glasses were still in tact. She had broken a pair of glasses just the week before when she had accidentally tripped over her brother, Charlie. They were so damaged that not even a spell could fix them. She had to buy a new pair and this had annoyed her because she was already short on money as it was.

Ginny was totally unaware that Draco had walked over to her. He was uncertain as to what to say to her.

_Pull yourself together. You are a Malfoy for goodness sakes. _He could practically hear his father speaking to him.

"Uh, Weasley."

Ginny's head snapped up. Malfoy. What did he want with her now? Hadn't he tormented her enough already?

"What do you want?" she hissed. Ginny was not going to let herself be frightened like last time. She was going to stand her ground. Or at least try to.

Draco gritted his teeth and it took all of his willpower to stop himself from saying, "What could I possibly want with a Weasley?"

"I just wanted to say hello." he put on his most charming smirk (he never let anybody at Hogwarts see him smile).

Ginny leaned back.

"Excuse me?" She must be going crazy. _It must have been those lollies that Fred and George gave me yesterday – I knew they had done something to them._

As if Draco could read her mind, he said, "No, Weasley. You are sane. Am I such a horrible person that saying hello to you is an inconceivable idea?" Draco had to bite his tongue to stop himself from screaming. This was his version of a horror movie. Forget all those muggle movies such as _Scream_; actually having to be nice to a Weasley was enough to give him nightmares.

Draco watched Ginny's reaction. Would she see through him? He hoped not. He had to win that bet.

Ginny felt like pinching herself to see if she was awake and not dreaming. _What was going on here?_

"Malfoy, what is with you?"

"I was just trying to be nice."

"Nice? You do not even know that meaning of the word."

Malfoy's face darkened. "Now wait a minute, all I did was say hello and you insult me. At least I'm not some moronic muggle-lover with more siblings than money."

"Bugger off. One minute you are threatening me and the next you are all civil. You are so infuriating. You think that you can just walk all over people." Ginny accused. She had never been so mad in her life. She was even angrier than when Draco had slipped a potion into her drink during her third year and her hair had been bright green for two weeks.

"Now you listen here, Weasley. I-"

"Time out. Time out." A voice cut in.

Both Draco and Ginny turned and saw that almost the whole of Hogwarts was standing there looking at them.

Ginny saw Colin and Lydia staring in shock. _Don't ask_. She mouthed to them. She then turned her attention back to the person who had interrupted their little "chat".

It was Viktor Krum.

Krum was an international quidditch star. While at school, he had competed against Harry Potter in the Triwizard Tournament and had even dated Hermione for a bit.

"Krum, what are you doing here?" Draco asked. They had briefly met last year and had not liked each other one bit. The rest of the people crowded in the aisle were wondering the same thing.

Hermione was even turning red at the sight of her former beau.

"I," Krum said, lifting his nose up into the air, "am teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. It is Professor Krum to you."

"Yes, _Professor._" Draco mocked. "What happened to your quidditch career?"

"That is none of your concern. There is to be no more fighting. And I do believe that you two should be at a meeting with the other prefects." Krum spoke pompously and dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

"Shit." Draco muttered under his breath. He had totally forgotten. He raced off closely followed by Ginny and the other prefects, who had been watching the confrontation. He would have to find a way to get along with Weasley. She had been more irritating than he had remembered her being in the past. He had to convince her to trust him. It was degrading to have to talk to a Weasley and all for the sake of that stupid bet.

Draco pushed his thoughts aside as they reached the Prefects' compartment.

* * *

Professor Albus Dumbledore was standing, waiting for them. His white beard had grown even longer over the holidays and was well below his stomach. His face also had a few more lines on it than Ginny remembered.

"Ah, how lovely for you to all arrive. I suspect you were held up by something." His eyes twinkled and Ginny knew that he knew what had taken place just five minutes beforehand.

Ginny looked down at her hands and listened to Dumbledore as he spoke.

"As most of you probably know, there are twenty-four prefects altogether. Eight from each of the three upper years including the Head Girl and Boy. You have been especially chosen because of the qualities and skills that each of you possess. You are the role models for the rest of the school and this means that you have to set a good example. Your behaviour ought to be immaculate."

Dumbledore looked pointedly at Draco, causing him to squirm. Out of the corner of his eye Malfoy could see Ginny silently laughing at him. Dumbledore seemed to know everything that happened concerning Hogwarts.

"You will stay in a different area to the rest of the students. This is the first time that we have attempted something like this and we are sure that it will be a success. You will be shown to your rooms after the Sorting Hat Ceremony and Feast. Any questions?"

Ginny put up her hand.

Dumbledore peered at Ginny over the rim of his glasses. "Miss Weasley, you have something to ask."

"Yes. Who are we sharing rooms with?"

"You will be sharing your room with people of your year that are of the same gender."

The prefects shuffled out of the room.

"Where does that leave you, Weasley?" Draco provoked.

Ginny sucked in her breath.

Draco immediately regretted what he had said. He was supposed to be getting on her good side.

"Umm, Weasley."

"Yeah."

"Forget it." Draco sighed.

"What is it?"

"I really did just want to say hello."

"Yeah, sure you did." Ginny said sarcastically.

"I did. I know I am not always the nicest person but I was hoping as prefects that we might be able to get along." Draco tried his best to look sincere.

"You confuse me." Ginny rubbed the back of her head.

"I have that affect on most girls."

"I mean it. We were screaming at each other not long ago. You have tormented me ever since I started Hogwarts and now you want me to forget all this and just be friends. Why the change of heart?"

Draco was taken aback. _So, the youngest Weasley is not as stupid as I thought._

"I just thought," Draco paused, choosing his words carefully. "I just thought that seeing as we will be living and working in close proximity to each other we should try to get along."

"I see your point but I still do not trust you." Ginny knew that Draco was making sense in what he was saying but she still did not fully believe him. He was hiding something. "I know what you are saying and I guess it would be good to try to co-operate." Ginny said this last sentence with some distaste. What was she thinking? Draco definitely had something up his sleeve.

Draco seemed to almost sigh in relief at Ginny's answer.

Ginny narrowed her eyes. "I know you are up to something Draco and I do not like it. You surprise me – and few people ever manage to do that."

Ginny tried not to shake as she walked away. She was somewhat unnerved from her experience. Malfoy made her uneasy and never once did she look at his eyes. He was a good foot taller than her and so this meant that she had to draw herself up to her full height to give herself more confidence when she was around him.

Ginny went into the bathroom to change into her school robes when she noticed that her second least favourite person after Malfoy was also there – Pansy Parkinson.

Ginny put her head down and meandered through the giggling group of girls. It was sometimes an advantage, looking the way she did. Nobody noticed her a lot of the time. It was like she was invisible. Ginny often wondered if anybody would actually care (apart from Colin, Lydia, Harry, Ron and Hermione of course) if she just disappeared one day and never came back. Probably not. It did hurt sometimes, having people treat you like you were either scum or invisible but Ginny was used to it. She had chosen to be like this for a reason.

She would _never_ let anybody know about her secret.

Ginny found an empty cubicle and listened to the girls outside. She could easily hear Pansy's shrill voice.

"I had the greatest summer." Ginny heard her say.

"Did you see Draco a lot?" one girl asked.

"Urgh. As if. He is such a jerk."

_Wow, Pansy and I actually agree about something._ Ginny thought.

Ginny placed her ear against the door and heard Pansy say next, "I dumped him at the beginning of the holidays."

"You didn't!" Another girl exclaimed.

"It was so funny. I was all like, 'you didn't think that I would leave Hogwarts dating you. You did? How sweet.' You should have seen his face."

Ginny could not help feeling a tad sorry for Malfoy. Pansy was a first-class cow.

"Anyways, I met this really cute guy. You know Viktor Krum. He was really into me." Pansy continued.

"How into you?" Another girl saucily asked.

Ginny had to cup a hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing.

_Viktor Krum. I can't wait till she finds out that he is teaching at Hogwarts this year. As if he was into Pansy. She is probably making all of this up. _Ginny thought maliciously.

The conversation turned back to Draco.

"You know, Pansy, I saw Draco talking with that awful Weasley girl. What's-her-name? He seems to be paying a lot of attention to her lately."

"Now that is just beyond gross. As if he would look at _her. _As if any guy would." Pansy sniggered.

Ginny tensed. Pansy may be gorgeous with her long straight blonde hair and emerald green eyes but that did not mean that she was beautiful within. Most of the boys at Hogwarts did not seem to notice this though. They practically worshipped her and many girls wanted to be her. __

Another girl started to ask something. "Weren't you two supposed to go to that-" Ginny could not hear the rest of the sentence as the person in the cubicle next to her decided to flush the toilet. She only heard Pansy say, "Yeah, I was. But the poor thing will have to find somebody else now."

Ginny then heard the bathroom door swing open and Pansy and her followers went out. She sat down on the toilet seat cover and breathed in deeply. She would not let Pansy make her cry. That would be twice in one day that she would be reduced to tears. She was stronger than that. She was a better person than Pansy and Draco put together.

Ginny put on her robes and then went out and washed her face. One day she would prove her worth to the whole of Hogwarts.

But for now, she just could not wait to get to school.

* * *

The train finally stopped and they arrived at their destination.

As a prefect, Ginny helped assist the first years to Hogwarts Castle. She saw Malfoy as well but tried to ignore him. She saw that some of the first years had started to blush and giggle at the sight of him. Ginny just rolled her eyes.

"Malfoy has a big enough head as it is. He does not need them feeding his ego." She scoffed.

"Pardon, Ginny?"

Ginny saw that Hermione had come up next to her.

"Nothing, Hermione. Just talking to myself."

"Hey Ginny, are you feeling okay?" Hermione questioned.

"Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just seem…" Hermione trailed off as something caught her attention.

Ginny saw her looking at Viktor Krum. He had dark hair and skin but his eyes were surprisingly blue. He was good-looking and Ginny could not help but blurt out, "You still like Krum, don't you?"

"Do not be silly. As Head Girl I cannot afford to have a crush on a teacher."

Trust Hermione to always be proper.

"You did have something once. What ever happened?" Ginny pried but knew she had said too much when she saw Hermione stiffen.

_Me and my stupid mouth. _Ginny groaned inwardly. _The few people who do actually like me I end up driving away._

"We better hurry." Hermione told Ginny and they both continued leading the first years to the castle.

When the did get there, they watched the usual Sorting Hat ceremony and then the room grew quiet as Albus Dumbledore stood up and gave his usual speech.

"This year we have an addition to our staff. I would like you all to welcome Professor Krum. No doubt most of you probably recognize him. He will be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts."

The whole school inspected Krum. Ginny saw that Severus Snape looked displeased that once again he had missed out on teaching DADA. Ginny could not help but wonder why Viktor was teaching at Hogwarts. She recalled what Draco had said about Viktor's quidditch career. What had happened? Why did he stop playing quidditch all of a sudden? Ginny also saw Pansy's mouth drop open. It looked like that news was unexpected. Ginny suppressed a giggle.

Dumbledore continued talking again. "Though I am by no means gifted at Divination, I am certain that this year will be a year of change for some of you. Some of you will experience things that you have never experienced before. Some of you will change inwardly. Some of you will change outwardly. I hope you will all make the right decisions in the end."

Dumbledore then sat down leaving everybody in the hall to whisper about what he had just said.

"Sometimes I think that Dumbledore has lost the plot. What on earth was he talking about?" Lydia asked Colin and Ginny.

"Dumbledore always knows what is going on around Hogwarts. He probably knows something that we do not." Colin suggested.

"This year has certainly been strange so far." Ginny remarked. She relayed what had happened that day with Malfoy to her two friends.

"Blimey. Draco obviously has something planned. I would watch out if I were you." Colin warned.

"That is what I was thinking." Ginny admitted.

"Maybe Malfoy did have a change of heart?" Lydia said and thought about this for a moment before saying, "Nah. He doesn't even have one. I would be careful around Malfoy, Gin."

Ginny looked at Malfoy who was sitting with all the other Slytherins. Crabbe and Goyle had finally arrived and were laughing at something he had said. Malfoy looked up and saw Ginny. He said something else and continued laughing, leaving Ginny to think that he has said something about her.

She lowered her eyes and continued eating her treacle tart, which did not seem to taste as good as it usually did.

* * *

Ginny and the other prefects were led to the prefect quarters, which happened to be located in the astronomy tower.

"Great. Now we have to walk forever to get to everywhere else in the school." A Hufflepuff prefect, Hannah Abbot, had uttered.

They were shown their rooms. Ginny was sharing a room with Amanda Banks (who was in Ravenclaw), Suzanne Flint (who was in Slytherin) and Jemima Norris (who was in Hufflepuff). They were girls in her year but Ginny did not really know them. Amanda and Jemima seemed okay but Suzanne was another story. She was Marcus Flint's (the previous Slytherin quidditch captain) younger sister so that probably explained her nasty attitude. She had made it clear to Ginny that she did not want to be on the same planet as her, let alone in the same room. Ginny was thankful at least that Pansy was not a prefect.

All the prefects shared a common room and two bathrooms (one for the boys and one for the girls).

Most people had gone to bed, exhausted, but Ginny could not get to sleep. She decided to go down and have a shower.

Ginny went down and undressed and saw herself in the mirror. Her skin was porcelain white and she hated it. She undid her hair and took of her glasses. She twisted the taps and stepped into the shower cubicle, closing the curtain behind her.

Ginny had been there for ten minutes when she noticed that she was not alone.

There was somebody else in the room with her. She could hear footsteps coming closer to her cubicle.

Ginny peered out from behind the curtain and her eyes widened.

"Malfoy?"

* * *

**A/N: **So, what did you think of my second chapter? Be a darl and please review! I absolutely loved all the reviews I got for the first chapter so I hope you guys like the second chapter just as much. I was still trying to set up the plot in that chapter - there will be more of a plot in the next. I will also try to include some more Ginny and Draco interaction as well as some other stuff from the movie – things will definitely move a lot faster!

Because I am on a high at the moment I have decided to list everybody that not only had questions but also reviewed. Thanks so much you guys!

Some of you wondered why Ginny made herself look ugly and all I am revealing at the moment is that you will find out eventually. Just not yet.

**mtm123:** No, I haven't read Hermione's All That but thanks for letting me know. I checked out her story after you mentioned it and it is really good. My fic is going to differ from hers (or his) though. I am glad you like it!

**bb:** thanks for the advice. I followed it for this chapter and I will alter my disclaimer for the previous one. Thanks for the compliment!

**Gryffindor112789:** No, I did not mean to change the station from King's Cross. I am such an idiot! I did go back and fix it though. Thanks for your review. I really love She's All That as well.

**Chocoliciouz:** Not to sure as yet about Blaise at the end and whether he will steal Ginny. You will just have to wait and see. (As a hint, my story does follow that plotline of the movie so it will be similar in places…) Thanks for you review!

**Lili-lulaby13:** Yeah, having Usher or Lee Jordan as a DJ would be funny – good idea. I might try and include that. Thanks!

Thanks also go to:

liveandletlive, prisoner of love, Sammy Baggins, Liraniel, mrsmunkee, The Future Mrs Ja rule, anniePADFOOT, froeth, dreamingofhorses, Ennaurial, CLG, Line-from Denmark, Pretty-In-Pink02, Noelle Andrews, lorablak, Petetraj, chelsea, crazyginnygirl, Lady Mo, Nichole Malfoy, Menace of Mine, Aisha, Jonah, H.S, PrettyGal1212, ayumi-dono, animezebra, confusedlost, Picklegal, Ehlonna, sumwun, ailsa, princess of rivendell and baby blue gal.


	3. Then suddenly, it's hard to breathe

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything you recognize. Most of it is J.K Rowling's and _Beautiful_ of course is sung by Christina Aguilera. So please don't sue!

**A/N: **Hey all! Sorry I took so long to update. I had some problems with my computer so I would have updated weeks ago if I could. 

But anyway, thanks so much for all your lovely reviews. It really made my day (this sounds sad, I know). Any writers here reading this will know what I am talking about.

This chapter kind of shows how the relationship between Ginny and Draco progresses.

Please excuse any typos – I wrote this in a rush.

Don't forget to you-know-what! (review)

* * *

Chapter 3:

-

_Then suddenly, it's hard to breathe_

_-_

Malfoy had been patrolling the school grounds, looking for any troublemakers. He was weary and irritable. This present mood had been caused by the contents of a particular letter that he had received from his father.

His father had been writing to inform him that as he would be turning seventeen in a few months time, Draco would soon be initiated as a Death Eater. His father was no doubt proud that Voldemort had deemed his son fit to become one but Draco could not care. He did not want to become some spineless weak man under the control of another like his father was. He thought that his father was foolish in following such a man who, lets face it, was able to be defeated by a baby. Quite frankly, Draco wanted to be his own man. Voldemort was a fanatic. Sure, Draco thought that mudbloods were disgusting but he did not think that they should all be destroyed like You-Know-Who did.

Of course, Draco never let anybody know about all this. Not even his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. He despised his father. He was not afraid of him but for his mother's sake, he hid his real feelings from everybody else. His father would make his mother's life more miserable than it already was.

Draco would also not let anybody know how mortified he was to find out that he was going to be made a death eater. He could not even admit it to himself. He had seen other people been initiated and once they were they were never the same again. He supposed that was why he had such a close relationship with Professor Snape – he had managed to become a death eater but had still had the strength to cross over to the other side.

He never let anybody know his real feelings. He had to keep up his façade.

Malfoy was heading back to the Astronomy Tower, cursing for the millionth time the fact that it was so far away from the rest of the school when he heard noises coming from the girl's bathroom.

He considered going inside and seeing what was going on. Though it was a girl's bathroom he decided to go in anyway, curiosity had got the better of him.

He narrowly opened the door and peered inside but found that he could not see much from that angle. He crept into the room and realized that somebody was in the shower. He walked closer, wondering why anybody would want to have a shower at this time of night when the shower curtain drew open and before he knew it, a small white face poked out and her mouth dropped open.

"Malfoy?"

Draco stared at the person in confusion. He had no idea who the person was but he was startled to find that she was not unattractive. Then realization kicked in. It was that disgusting Weasley girl. The one who he had made a bet on.

Ginny, on the other hand, looked at Malfoy who was standing there looking as confused as she was. "What are you doing here?"

Malfoy seemed to be in a daze. "Is that you Weasley? I almost did not recognize you."

Ginny remembered that she did not have her usually disguise on and whipped around behind the shower curtain.

"Malfoy, what do you want? And what are you doing in the girl's bathroom?"

Malfoy blinked his eyes and hoped that he had been seeing things. "I was patrolling the school grounds and when I saw a light on in here I came in here to find out what was going on. What kind of person has a shower at one o'clock in the morning?" Malfoy sneered. Who did she think she was? She was just some stupid girl. He should be the one asking the questions.

"Leave me alone." Ginny snapped.

"Temper, temper Weasley. If I did not know any better I would say that you are angry at me."

"That is because I am. Now go away."

"I do not think so. We have some things to discuss." Malfoy raised his voice over the sound of the water running. He struggled to make his voice sound as sincere as possible.

"Like what?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Just come out." Malfoy ordered, trying not to imagine how Ginny must look like behind the curtain but he could not help shuddering in disgust.

"Fine, I will come out. But you have to leave first and wait outside the bathroom."

"Why?" Malfoy pried.

"Because I have to get dressed. Now go." Ginny grinned from behind the curtain. Now who was giving the orders? Somehow Malfoy did not seem as scary when she could not see him. Instead, he sounded just like a spoilt little boy.

Draco Malfoy had half a mind to tell her off for ordering him around like a servant but could not be bothered to waste his time on her. He grumpily left the bathroom and waited for Weasley impatiently outside.

When Malfoy had gone, Ginny turned off the water and got dressed.

"Idiot." She muttered to herself. "Why do I let myself get into these situations?"

She put on her glasses and combed her hair so that most of it covered her face. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she exited the bathroom. She had no clue as to what Malfoy was going to tell her.

Her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the common room. (A/N: I have made it so that the bathrooms are reached via the common room).

She saw that Malfoy was lounging on one of the couches. He stood up suddenly when he saw her. Ginny was amazed to see that his eyes were red – Malfoy did not seem his usual self.

"Malfoy," she said hesitantly, "Are you alright?"

Malfoy could see that she was looking at him in pity and his nostrils flared in indignation.

"Of course I am, Weasley." He spat out the last word as if it were a curse. "I want to talk to you about what I said earlier about getting along together."

_He is going to take it all back. It was probably all just some joke._ Ginny thought.

"I meant what I said earlier. I do want to make some amends." Malfoy swallowed nervously, all the while hoping that she believed him.

Ginny jumped back, startled.

"Malfoy, what is going on? One minute you hate my guts the next you want to be my friend."

"I don't want to be your friend." Malfoy glared at her, insulted. "I just want a truce."

"Fine, a truce then. Why the sudden change?"

Malfoy took a step closer to Ginny who took a step backwards. This new mood of Malfoy's was starting to scare her more than his normal self usually did.

"My father wants me to do things. Things that would mean I would have to become involved in something that I would rather not." He looked at Ginny to see if she understood what he was saying. She appeared to comprehend his words. "Contrary to popular belief, I am not like my father and never will be. I If I do make this truce with you it will be another way to aggravate my father. That's all."

Malfoy, if he had believed in such a thing, would have crossed his fingers behind his back. Instead he sat down and waited for Ginny's response.

"Oh. So that is the way of it." Ginny sat down also onto the nearest couch. "Fine. Lets call it a truce." She answered determinedly.

Malfoy seemed to sigh in relief. He turned away so that she could not see the huge sneer that had appeared on his face. She had fallen for it.

"Well," Draco held his hands out as if he did not know what to say. "I guess I had better say good night then."

He walked off and into his room, not hearing Ginny quietly whisper "good night" back.

Up in his room, Draco could not believe that the youngest Weasley was so naïve. It had sounded so lame to him but she still bought it. He sniggered at the memory of her dark brown eyes staring up at him, helpless. _She's a disgrace to the wizard race. _He thought. He could not wait to win the bet and began to formulate his plan. He had to show Blaise that he could do it.

Malfoy lay back down onto his bed, trying to think about anything but the impending death eater initiation.

* * *

Ginny was somewhat more bubbly the next morning. She went through the usual ritual that began each morning: 

She fell out of bed.

Searched for her glasses.

Got dressed in the most awful thing that she could think of (today it was a vomit coloured jumper with a long black skirt that impeded her walking so that she resembled an elephant).

Ignored whoever may be there to insult her (this year it was Suzanne Flint – she yelled at Ginny to drop dead by way of good morning and then stormed out of the room, leaving a trail of nauseating perfume in her wake. Ginny's other two roommates just averted their eyes and continued what they were doing).

Went down to have breakfast.

Ginny entered the Great Hall and scurried to where Lydia and Colin were sitting. She avoided eye contact with anyone as she walked past and was a few metres away from her destination when she collided into somebody with a loud "Oof!" The next thing she knew, Ginny was lying on top of an incredibly warm and comfortable ground – in fact, it was no ground at all but to Ginny's horror, as she looked at what she was lying on, Draco Malfoy.

Malfoy rubbed his head in pain and winced. "Weasley, get off me." he growled.

Ginny hastily got off him and rose to her feet. "I'm sorry-" she began but was cut short.

"Save your apologies for somebody who cares. Just bugger off." Malfoy pushed past her and sneered at the many people who had watched their exchange and to the Slytherin table amidst much applause.

Ginny was astounded and for a few seconds her mouth unattractively opened and closed a few times but no sound came out.

She shook her head and lumbered over to her only two friends, Lydia and Colin, who were looking at her with concern.

"Are you okay?" Colin asked.

"Of course she is not okay – she just had an encounter with the 'big bad wolf'. Don't let him get to you Gin. He's a moron with too big an ego."

Ginny grabbed some sausages in response and began gulping them by the dozen. She knew that they were her best friends – her only friends – but she did not feel like sharing with them what had happened last night. It was too private and she felt too foolish. To think that she could have believed him…

Draco at this moment was looking at Ginny and observing her reaction. He could see that she felt humiliated. _Good. Everything is going according to plan._

Blaise, who was sitting next to Draco, followed Draco's gaze and found that he was watching Ginny.

"Well done, Draco. Looks like your relationship has really improved." He said sarcastically.

"Yes, it has." Malfoy replied enigmatically. He relished seeing the look of confusion that appeared on Blaise's face when he said this.

Crabbe and Goyle were both watching Malfoy and Blaise without understanding a single thing that they were saying but were too dense to ask what was going on.

Malfoy stood up and motioned them to follow him as they went to their first class of the day – potions.

* * *

Both Ginny and Draco were irritated that they were actually in a same class together. For the 6th and 7th years, potions were usually combined (it depended on the number of people that wanted to do the subject). 

Ginny ignored him as she sat down in a seat at the back of the room away from everyone else. Draco suppressed a laugh at her actions as he took a sit as far away as possible at the front next to Blaise. He noticed that Pansy was also in his class and was sitting next to Millicent Bulstrode.

Pansy pouted at him but he instead glowered at her. He hoped that she was not going to crawl back to him now that she had discovered that Viktor Krum was a teacher at Hogwarts. It could ruin the bet.

Professor Snape flew into the classroom and started giving them instructions on how to concoct an Invisibility Potion.

Malfoy and Ginny listened to the instructions and each became involved in their work.

Ginny had finished preparing the potion early and saw that Malfoy had done the same. She was extremely talented at potions, though Snape would rather be petrified than admit it to her. She saw Snape grunt as he noted the colour of her potion before moving on to check on the other students.

Ginny stood up as she began tidying her desk and by accident, bumped into another person – Pansy Parkinson.

"Sorry-" Ginny began and for a second time that day she was rudely interrupted.

"Can you, like, watch where you are going, like, next time? Like, I know it may, like, be hard for, like, an idiot such as you." Pansy snarled and pushed Ginny away from her as she sauntered past. This took Ginny completely by unawares and before she knew it she had toppled over and onto her desk with her uncovered potion on it. The potion spilled onto Ginny so that she was drenched as well as a few desks and chairs which suddenly disappeared.

She saw Draco smirking at her demise and she flushed.

"Oh no." she moaned. She looked down at herself and saw that she too had become invisible.

Snape visibly sighed. "I should have expected that something like this would happen. For just one day Miss Weasley can you do something right. I should be able to take care of the invisible desks and chairs but wherever you are in this godforsaken place, go straight to the Hospital Wing and get yourself fixed up. Don't try anything otherwise you will regret it. Better yet, Mr. Malfoy, please accompany Miss Weasley to the Hospital wing. Miss Weasley, you will later have to see me so that I can organize your punishment."

Draco looked distastefully in the direction where Ginny had been standing before she had become invisible.

"Punishment? But it was not my fault." Ginny protested.

"Silence! You have ruined your potion and so already have a mark of zero, continue complaining and you will be the first student that I have ever given minus marks to."

Ginny reluctantly grabbed her books which had luckily escaped being touched by the Invisibility Potion and made her way to the Hospital Wing.

Draco followed the books so that he knew where Ginny was.

"Great going, Weasley." He taunted.

Ginny kept walking, not saying a word.

"Too brainless to answer me, are you?" he goaded her again.

Ginny still kept on walking, making no reply.

Draco made a few more insults but still got no response from Ginny. Maybe if he had listened more carefully, he would have been able to tell that she was crying.

At the Hospital Wing, it took quite a while for Madame Comfrey to notice Ginny. Malfoy would not help her at all so Ginny had to grab the woman's attention by herself. When Ginny had finally managed to explain her situation, she was taken to one of the hospital beds.

"You will have to stay here for a few days. I can give you the potion now but there are some side effects such as migraines and sometimes fever." Madame Pomfrey warned Ginny.

Draco snorted from behind them causing Madame Pomfrey to turn around and send him out. "You are not needed here, so go." She told him. Ginny could not help but giggle at the expression on Malfoy's face as he walked out of the Hospital Wing.

Within ten minutes, Ginny had taken the remedial potion and was visible again.

For the next three days, Ginny did not have many visitors. Colin and Lydia came to see her of course. Ron came to see her for five minutes as well with Hermione and Harry but they had to leave quickly for Charms. Ron during his visit threatened that is Pansy was not a girl he would beat her to a pulp, and if Snape was not a teacher, he would do the same to him. Ginny laughed at his theatrics and looked over at Harry who was doing the same.

Harry…the Boy Who Lived. Ginny had been in love with him since that day at King's Cross Station at Platform 9 ¾. Over the years she had dreamt about him and thought about him often but then one day, when she was perhaps in her 4th year at Hogwarts, she saw him looking at Cho Chang. Looking at her the way Ginny often looked at him. It was then that she knew that it was pointless to continue with her fascination with him. He would never see her. Not as anything more than Ron's little loser sister, that is.

Ginny wondered wistfully whether she would ever find somebody who she would love and who would love her in return. She could not see anything like that happening to her anytime soon.

The last night that Ginny was staying in the Hospital Wing, somebody snuck in and came to see her – Draco Malfoy.

"What do you want? What happened to the truce we made? You must have thought that I was so dumb for believing you." she said dully.

"You can't expect me to change immediately. It is going to take a while. Besides, everybody was watching."

"You're embarrassed."

Malfoy did not even bother lying. "Yes."

Ginny nodded silently.

"I think that I can make it up to you." Draco told her. This was the really hard part of his plan. He was trying to muster as much warmth as he could into his voice.

"How?" Ginny turned her face away from him.

Draco felt something touch his heart and lightly tugged it but he pushed the feeling away.

"Come to the Royal Wizards' Ball with me."

Ginny gulped. "Huh?"

"Come to the Royal Wizards' Ball with me." He said again.

"Have you gone mad? Can you imagine me going? I don't think so."

"I could teach you what to do and say." He offered. If this plan did not work he would have to come up with another one.

"Come with me." Draco willed her with his eyes but the rest of his face remained passive.

Ginny considered his proposition. Should she go? She finally reached a decision.

"Yeth." She lisped.

* * *

A/N: So, it seems that Draco has a severe case of multiple personality disorder.

Thank for all your reviews for the last two chapters. I love the typical cliché of Ginny running into Malfoy and so I just **had **to include it in my fic. I hope you liked this chapter.

Please review and tell me what you think!

**liveandletlive: **Yeah, you're right. I am going to have it that the prefects patrol the school and go to each of the dorms – just to kind of liven some things up a bit. Thanks for your review and I am glad that you like the story.

**LiLi-lUlAbYe13: **Hey, glad you like the story. I am going to include that "You thought I was going to stay dating you? You did? How cute" line with Viktor most probably in the next one or two chapters. I am going to have it like you said – Pansy and Viktor used to go out but he now has to break it up with her coz he's a teacher. Thanks for reviewing!

**Ayumi-dono**: I will be adding some angsty bits. Probably about Draco and the whole death eater thing. Thanks for reviewing and I am glad you love my fic.

**mtm123: **I am so sorry that I took so long to update. I won't take as long next time ­. Thanks for reviewing!

As for all my other reviewers – thank you all so much. Muah!


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